Brotherhood: War
by F-I8 2
Summary: After an upsetting argument, the Big Three are at it again. This time, it's war. Percy is dragged right in the middle of it, and unfortunately, it's said it will be the bloodiest war in history. Once again, sea, sky and death will battle in wars.
1. Introduction

**Brotherhood**

**Introduction**

**A/N: Hey guys! Welcome to my new story, please enjoy it and favorite/alert and comment!**

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The sight was incredible, beyond anyone's imagination. Poseidon couldn't believe what he was seeing.

In front of him stood the Gulf of Mexico, and what was supposed to be a beautiful blue ocean was an ugly black mess. _An oil spill._

The rig that held all the oil was on fire, gallons and gallons of oil pouring into the ocean.

Poseidon recoiled as he felt the life of the sea around him dying. Fish carcasses were already floating up, and the oil seemed to stretch out forever. But something caught his eye: the floating body of a merman boy. Poseidon's eyes flared as he looked up at the oil rig. The Mist would surely cover up the boy's body, but nothing could ever cover up the mess this spill had caused.

Finally, Poseidon jumped into the ocean and descended to the bottom where the chaos was even more painful. Mermen and mermaids were swimming around frantically, calling the names of their loved ones. Sea creatures were frantically evacuating to cleaner spaces. Poseidon's heart sank as he saw a mermaid weeping over the dead body of her husband.

As Poseidon took the whole scene in in, he spotted one merman frantically swimming towards him. He recognized the merman; it was one of his lieutenants.

"My lord Poseidon," the lieutenant said, bowing before standing at attention.

Poseidon nodded grimly. "What's the situation, lieutenant?"

"The oil spill has already taken many lives, but my mermen are doing their best to evacuate everyone to cleaner waters."

"That's good to hear. Do you know how this happened? I presume the mortals started a fire up there?"

The merman shook his head. "One of my soldiers witnessed the whole thing, my lord. He saw a lightning bolt strike the rig, causing a fire. And then the oil started spilling."

"_A lightning bolt?_"

"Yes, sir," the lieutenant nodded. "It wasn't a regular lightning bolt either. Calm skies, not a cloud in sight, yet that bolt of lightning just struck, out of nowhere, right on the rig…"

And then Poseidon finishes the sentence, "As if someone made it happen exactly like that…" and then he realizes it's Zeus.

The merman's eyes widened. "Sir, surely you don't mean Zeus would —"

"Lieutenant, continue to do your best to evacuate everyone. I have business to attend to."

The merman bowed. "As you wish, my lord."

Poseidon nodded, moving away to an area where no one could see him. Then he closed his eyes and disappeared in a spray of a sea mist.

When Poseidon came to, he couldn't believe his eyes (again). Olympus was partying. On the streets, all sorts of beings were outside, laughing and drinking.

As Poseidon walked up to the throne room, a drunken minor god bumped into him, exclaiming, "Sorry, fish dude! Just gotta go to the throne room and congratulate —" He tripped and laughed. "Well, that was stupid."

Poseidon scowled and walked up to the throne room. Over the doors was a huge banner that read "Happy Birthday Hera!"

Poseidon would've laughed if he wasn't so upset. Hera hated the idea of having a party for her birthday. She only wanted "quality family time", which meant rounding up the gods and playing stupid games like "Guess Who?" It was also a torturous time when Hera asked everyone how they could improve the family. Thankfully Aphrodite always managed to make the day enjoyable with a round of "Truth or Dare".

When Poseidon scanned the room, he spotted Zeus sitting on his throne. He looked exhausted, even sleepy. Poseidon looked around to see if Hera was enjoying this, but she was nowhere in sight.

Hermes walked towards him, grinning. "Ah, Poseidon! Good to see you at Hera's birthday!"

"I'm not here for the birthday," he growled. "I'm here to speak to Zeus."

"He's not in the right frame of mind right now, I'm afraid. He's taken in too much —"

"I don't care what state he's in. He has to answer for the problems he's caused."

Hermes frowned. "What problems?"

Poseidon pushed him out of the way, ignoring the question and approaching Zeus' throne. When he saw him, Zeus roared a hearty laugh and said, "Poseidon! Good time, eh?"

Poseidon scowled. "Zeus, I need to speak with you _privately._"

Zeus laughed again. "Poseidon! It's a good day! Enjoy some food, enjoy the music, there's no need for business talk in a party like this!" He waved his hand around the room, but as he talked his head nodded, as if he were dizzy, and his voice sounded far too giddy.

"Zeus, you're drunk," Poseidon said.

"Well, I may have consumed a large sum. But I'll manage." Zeus patted his stomach, a silly smile pasted on his face.

But Poseidon knew what Zeus being drunk meant. "Do you know what happens when you're drunk? You unconsciously send lightning bolts to random places, risking the lives of mortals and other creatures! What the Hades are you doing being drunk?"

Zeus looked startled for a moment, before his countenance shifted back to the regular, sober Zeus. "Do not criticize me, brother! I will do as I want! Why are you suddenly upset?"

Poseidon took his trident out and swiped the air next to Zeus. "_This _is why I'm upset." The air shimmered and showed the very scene Poseidon had visited a few moments before. The oil spill, the dead merman boy body, and the dead fishes. Then it shifted, going underwater and showing the dead mermen, mermaids, and fishes floating around. The ocean floor of the Gulf of Mexico looked like a wasteland.

But Zeus simply shrugged. "Not my problem."

"_Not your problem_?" Poseidon yelled. "This is your entire fault!" He swiped the air again, and the scene showed a lightning bolt striking the oil rig. "It was your lightning bolt that struck this oil rig and caused this madness!"

"Brother," Zeus said, "this is your problem. Remember, I didn't intend for this to happen."

Poseidon's eyes flared, shaking with the rage that filled his entire body. "You got drunk, and it was your lightning bolt. You will take responsibility."

Zeus stood up furiously and spoke with a booming voice that filled the room. "How dare you give me orders! I am the king of the gods! I will not take responsibility of what happens in your realm!"

The room fell silent. All eyes were upon the two fighting gods.

"I will not sit back knowing that you caused all of this. If you won't do anything about what happens in my realm, then your realm too will face such a fate."

Zeus's eyes widened. "You will not touch my realm!"

"I will as your lightning bolt has touched mine!"

"I will kill you and your children if you touch my realm," Zeus growled. "Your precious seas will be seen as a place of defeat when I'm through with you."

Poseidon raised his eyebrows. "Is that a threat?"

"If it is war you want, brother, I will bring it."

"I do not want —"

"No — you brought this on yourself. Because of your disrespect and arrogance, I will take one of your children."

Poseidon scowled. "You wouldn't dare."

"I will kill that Percy Jackson of yours. He will be the first to die to remind you of your failure."

"Then I will do what I must to protect them. If you even attempt to kill any of my children, Zeus, I will see it as a declaration of war. I will strike back and you will see who is the better."

"Leave!" Zeus yelled.

Poseidon turned away and disappeared in a spray of sea mist.

* * *

PERCY'S POV:

Camp Half-Blood was getting better and better. Ever since we beat Kronos and his crew of monsters at Manhattan, more demigods started showing up. We started building more cabins, and people with all sorts of skills started appearing to act as trainers. It was surprising how many adult demigods were still out there.

Remember when my dad said he would bring more of my siblings in? Well, it turned out he wasn't joking. About two Poseidon kids crossed the camp borders:

The first one, Caitlyn Dunn, seventeen, came when I returned to camp. Her hair and her eyes were brown, so you couldn't really tell that she was a child of Poseidon except for her water powers. Caitlyn was a born fighter; she could handle any weapon given to her. She backed down from a fight, even though some of her opponents were huge buff guys twice her size. They never intimidated her. The rumor was that although her father was Poseidon, her grandmother was a daughter of Ares. Caitlyn has a thick British accent that's a little hard to understand sometimes, but having conversations with her are always fun. The weird thing is that she's a year older than me yet wasn't the child of the Great Prophecy. I don't know how she avoided the prophecy but she did somehow. I still have yet to learn about that girl.

The second one, Colin Thornton, fifteen, arrived two weeks after Caitlyn. He has the same sea-green eyes and black hair as me, but the biggest difference between the two of us is that he's about six feet tall and is pretty close to looking like a body builder. Despite being buff, Colin hadn't handled a weapon before reaching Camp Half-Blood. He's great at hand-to-hand combat, or wrestling, but he couldn't handle the sword until the trainer made him hold a sword all day. To lunch, to bed, to the shower, he was required to hold that sword. It looked so stupid, coming to one of the camp's peace lectures with a sword. But what do you know, the bonding was good for Colin. Now, it's practically a part of him; he's a beast with that sword. Colin was good-looking, but his charm skills were horrible. He was always nervous around girls, except his sisters, but he was a bro to the guys around the camp.

Aside from us, a couple of other Big Three children started appearing at camp as well. No one was surprised at the extent to which the Big Three broke their pact, but it still upset a few gods, especially Hera. But I don't want to get into that.

Anyway, life was good in camp with my new siblings. Unfortunately, whenever children of Zeus came in, there was bit of rivalry. Every time we crossed paths, they would give us dirty looks and sneer at us. It didn't bother me much, but still: if they hurt any of my siblings, they would know the power of Poseidon, Percy Jackson style.

The children of Hades were okay with us though. They would hang out with us from time to time, especially Nico. They hated the Zeus cabin because they were so arrogant.

Who would've known that our friendship with the Hades cabin and rivalry with the Zeus cabin was a mirror of an upcoming war?

I know I didn't.

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**Read on to the first chapter!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Brotherhood**

**Chapter 2**

**A/N: Please favorite/alert and comment!**

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The spear stabbed past my face as I dodged just in time. When the opponent drew back her spear, I swung toward her non-dominant hand and moved forward. I hit her hand, causing a medium cut on her hand and wrist. She dropped to the floor and threw her spear towards me. Expecting this, I deflected the spear and pointed Riptide to her throat. Facing defeat, she drew her hand towards me and water hit me from all direction, not that it was a problem, my clothes were still dry, but it caused Riptide to drop from my hands and drop into the waters of the canoe lake.

"Hey," I said, "no powers allowed."

Caitlyn Dunn laughed, "Well, I wasn't going to go down without a last hit."

I smiled at her. Caitlyn challenged me to a duel on a canoe in the canoe lake. The canoe was barely enough to sit two people, much less two people standing on each end exchanging hits. But Caitlyn insisted, and I finally gave in. Knowing she was working on her spear skills, I wanted to help her in any way I could.

I looked at the cut I had made, "You going to be okay?"

She nodded, "Don't worry about me, Percy," she assured me in her thick British accent, "it's just a cut, it feels like a tickle."

I laughed and lifted her up from the floor. Then I willed the canoe to take us to the shore where Colin Thornton and Nico di Angelo were watching us. Colin was wearing his orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt, swimming shorts, and flip-flops. Nico was in his aviator jacket and black jeans, on his right hand were his skull ring and by his side his Obsidian black sword.

Nico chuckled when we approached, "Go easy on her, Percy. She's still learning with that spear."

"She's getting better," I said. "Almost stabbed me in the face."

Colin observed Caitlyn's wrist and threw her some ambrosia. "You should get that healed before dinner. Food doesn't taste as good with a wound."

"Especially organic food," Nico grumbled.

Caitlyn nodded and ate a small bar of ambrosia. In a few moments, the wound closed and formed a small scar. She turned towards Nico, "Isn't capture the flag today?"

He nodded, "Our cabins are on the same team." He looked uneasily at me, "But Zeus took the Athena cabin."

"Annabeth agreed to that alliance?" I asked, confused.

Nico shook his head, "No, this time she decided to let the cabin vote. They chose to join Zeus this time."

I frowned then nodded. I wanted Annabeth on our side, not just because she was the best strategist in camp, but she was also my girlfriend. With Hades, Poseidon, and Athena in one team, that was a team bound for success.

"Well, we'll have fun anyways." I grumbled.

Caitlyn nodded, "No worries, Percy, we'll make our own plan. And Zeus cabin sucks at fighting."

I laughed. That was the thing with our rivalry with the Zeus cabin. Despite how good their fighters were, we always assured each other that their skills were horrible. Our cabin and the Hades cabin was the only one that could match their army of six. I don't know their names much, but I know they hate our guts for some reason.

"Hey," Colin looked up into the setting sun, "It's almost dinner. You guys want to head out now?"

Nico nodded, "Yes, but let's get my cabin first. I'm the senior counselor anyway."

The Hades cabin was always terrifying each time you approached it. Its exterior was nightmare black and the only light coming out of it was the two small Greek fire torches above the door. Between the torches was a large skull grinning down at us as if to say, _come in if you dare_. The windows were always pitch-black as if it seemed no life was inside. I think it's just an illusion, because inside the cabin, the lights are always on. But if you stared deep into the windows, the windows would show you your worst nightmares. The other day, it showed my best friend, Grover, in his underpants – let's not get into that.

As we approached the door, everyone but Nico hesitated. All of us have been here before but something always makes us stop and think twice about going in. Nico smirked as he saw our faces and walked in, us trailing behind him.

The cabin's inside was nothing like the outside decoration. It's as if the children of Hades were sick of death and scary things that they wanted to make their cabin look homey. The main door opened into a hallway of marble that had doors on each of its side. Each door led to a room that held its own purpose, so no one was allowed to have their own rooms. One door led to the bathroom, another to the sleeping quarters, another to the kitchen, one door to a rec room; and the last one at the end of the hallway, to a shrine to Hades, which is meant to replicate the Underworld. I don't think anyone goes in that room alone.

The new cabins were designed to look like dormitories, which I thought was totally unfair since the cabins look much better than ours. But I think they're renovating the original twelve cabins soon.

Nico led us to the rec room where three people were talking to each other.

I recognized two of them, Amanda and Rica. I assume the third one was a new kid.

Amanda and Rica were actual sisters, a year apart from each other. Amanda, 16; Rica, 15. Amanda and Rica both had black hair, but Rica had a tan, while Amanda had pale skin. I don't know much about them, but they're good with sword fighting. They came from a town somewhere in the Midwest where fencing was promoted.

"Hey, it's the Poseidon bunch," Amanda said, smiling.

Caitlyn and Rica hugged. I think they're best friends or something, but I never understood why girls would hug each other each time they saw each other.

Nico patted the new kid's back and looked at me, "This is Alan Howard, and he just came today."

"What's up?" He said, extending his hand.

Alan was tall and African-American. On his back was a crossbow, and on his black jeans were throwing knives within arm's reach. He wore a blue hoodie and wore a black belt with a metal skull in the middle. If I didn't see the skull belt, I wouldn't have even guessed he was a son of Hades.

"My name's Percy," I said, shaking his hand, "these are my brother and sister, Caitlyn and Colin."

He shook their hands and smiled, "I heard a lot about you Poseidon guys, these two loves talking about you guys." He motioned towards Amanda and Rica.

"You do?" Colin said.

Rica blushed, "Well, you guys are good fighters."

Amanda laughed, "Not only that, Rica said Colin looks –"

"Shut up, Amanda!" Rica said, blushing even more.

Amanda just had a smug smile pasted on her face. I looked towards Colin and grinned, he was blushing too.

The conch horn sounded.

"What's that?" Alan asked.

I walked towards the door and opened it, "Dinnertime, let's introduce you to the whole camp, Alan."

The dinner pavilion was renovated ever since we got a new wave of campers. We added more tables and flooring for the new campers, but even that wasn't enough. Now Chiron schedules a number of cabins a day to eat at the Big House. The good thing about the overflow of campers is that anyone can sit where they want now. So Annabeth, some Athena kids, and the Hades cabin sits on our table.

"Why aren't you guys joining us for Capture the Flag?" I asked Annabeth while the naiads passed out the food.

She frowned, "The Zeus kids have been being comfortable around my cabin," She scowled, "I've kept my distance but my cabin wanted a vote on who to join, and they chose the Zeus cabin."

I just nodded, yes, I was disappointed, but Annabeth was smart. If she would've found a way to join us, she would've found a way.

"Percy," she said, "Don't worry about it, it's just for this time." She kissed my cheek and smiled. "If I made the decision, I would've joined you."

I smiled, "It would be great having you."

I looked over to Alan who was talking to Amanda and Rica about throwing knives.

Annabeth followed my gaze and raised her eyebrows, "Who's that?"

"Alan Howard, new son of Hades." I said, picking at my food.

She did a double take, "Son of Hades?"

I nodded, "Yeah, Nico has a new brother."

Suddenly, Chiron stood up from his table and shouted, "Welcome to dinner campers! Please finish your dinner quickly; we will need to head to the campfire before Capture the Flag. We will-"

"Will we play?" shouted a camper from the Hermes cabin.

Chiron sighed, "Yes, we will pardon any punishment for the Hermes cabin after their… prank." He looked at the Demeter cabin, whose clothes looked charred from fire.

The Hermes cabin cheered and whooped, while the Demeter cabin was throwing bloodthirsty looks.

"As I said, we will need you to all eat quickly. There have been a change of rules, which I will explain at the campfire, and while we are at the campfire," He looked at Alan, "I will introduce a new camper."

I glanced at Alan, who looked a bit anxious. Who could blame him? He was about to be introduced to a few hundred campers.

"Enjoy your dinner!" Chiron smiled and went back to his seat.

Everyone went back to their regular thing, as if hearing this announcement was a regular part of their day. Which, of course, was a regular part. Every day, a new camper would come. Every day, some cabin did something stupid and had to ask for pardon. Every day Chiron would announce something about Capture the Flag since the game was so popular. It was just a part of our every-day lives.

I went over to Alan and sat next to him, "You okay?"

He shrugged, "A little stage-fright y'know? About to be introduced to a bunch of campers. Doesn't make anyone a happy camper."

I chuckled, "Don't worry. First time I was here, I broke the toilets."

"You what?"

"Long story," I said, "let's just say someone didn't like me and thought they could give me a swirly." I looked over at the Ares cabin and spotted Clarisse, who was busy sharpening some knife.

Alan had a funny look on his face, "How did you- oh yeah, you're a son of Poseidon."

I patted him on the back, "Don't give a child of Poseidon a swirly, Alan. It's not worth it."

He laughed, "I'll keep that in mind."

The campers around us were already heading to the campfire. I spotted the fireplace and nudged Alan, "Come on, let me show you a common tradition."

He followed me with his tray of food and watched as I dropped a part of my turkey burger in and said, "Poseidon, help me."

Alan frowned, "Help you with what?"

I shrugged, "Nothing, really. Just say whatever you want."

So Alan dropped his whole tray in, with the tray, and said, "Hope you enjoy the food, dad."

We looked down the hill toward the campfire. People were already heading there in two's or three's. I nudged Alan and looked over at my cabin, "Let's go. It's time for your introduction."

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**Please favorite/alert and comment!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Brotherhood**

**Chapter 2**

**A/N: Hello! Thanks for reading this far! I'm very excited to say that I will be updating this story lots and lots! Enjoy the story, and please review! I need those reviews to see how I am doing.**

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We all sat at our usual spot at the campfire: front seats, far left side. The reason we do this is because it's the closest distance to the speaker at the campfire and it's also the closest to the exit towards the Capture the Flag battlefield.

It took a couple of minutes for the place to fill, but when everyone got there Chiron got up and addressed the camp:

"Another productive and successful day here at Camp Half-Blood! Your cooperation through the lessons and activities are appreciated. Your actions will be rewarded by yet another game of Capture the Flag!"

Everyone cheered and whooped.

"But before we start the regular announcements and introduction of campers, let us have a moment of remembrance of one of the campers who gave their life on the battle against Kronos at New York."

Ever since the start of camp this year, it was a tradition to fully recognize a camper who fell during the battle against Kronos. The first day we recognized Luke Castellan because his sacrifice was so important. During these moments, a picture slideshow of the camper appears at the hearth, and a moment of silence follows.

Today a picture of Charles Beckondorf glowed in the hearth. The moment I saw it, chills went through my body. Beckondorf died in one of the missions I was in. He sacrificed his life for mine, blowing up the cruise ship that held a number of Kronos's forces.

The slideshow started with Beckondorf smiling in his first week of camp, then a picture of him at the camp forge. Another picture featured his promotion to Hephaestus senior counselor. The final picture showed a picture of him and Silena Beauregard smiling brightly at the camera.

The last picture made my heart sink. That was the day before Beckondorf died. And the significant thing of it all: _I _took the picture.

A tear rolled down my cheek as I recalled all the things Beckondorf had done for me. _I couldn't dwell in the past, though. _Beckondorf was in Elysium now, happily living (while dead) with Silena. I knew he was in a better place.

The moment of silence followed the picture slideshow. I examined the campfire assembly. Some of them were crying, while other put their head down. The new campers didn't know Beckondorf, but they knew he was of importance.

My scanning eyes fell on Alan Shepard. His face was full of confusion and it was really pale. He looked like a son of Hades at that moment.

Chiron galloped up to the main stage and smiled at the campers to comfort them, "Beckondorf was a great camper and a good leader. May we never forget him and his sacrifice."

The centaur cleared his throat, "Now to the regular announcement of the day: I'm very happy to announce that Gloriana Honsfield of the Nike cabin has completed the final class of Swordfighting III and will advance to Weapon Mastery 101. On the other hand, let's introduce a number of campers who had just come in the past week."

Chiron called the names of the new campers. From a nine year-old to an eighteen year-old they came one by one. Finally, Chiron called Alan's name.

"Alan Shepard, son of Hades, step forth."

Alan hesitantly stepped up onto the platform, but his countenance was still confused. He shook the hand of Chiron as he welcomed him and wished him a good time at camp. Alan thanked him and walked down the stage.

After a few more new camper introduction, Chiron approached the stage, "Campers! Now we will start the Capture the Flag games! May I call the captains up on the stage?"

As Annabeth walked up the stage, the cabins on her side applauded and cheered. She looked toward me and flashed a smug smile.

I walked up the platform and the cabins on my side cheered their approval.

Chiron chuckled, "I am quite surprised, Percy, I was expecting you and Annabeth together."

"We just needed the competition," I smirked.

Annabeth laughed, "Not much competition I'm facing, if you ask me, Seaweed Brain."

I grinned, "Oh, it's on, Wise Girl."

"Haven't you considered that your nickname for me compliments me?"

"We'll see how wise you are after the game," I said.

We shook hands and walked off the stage, this capture the flag game would be interesting.

* * *

**8:00 PM | Capture the Flag Team Meeting**

Our team consisted of my cabin, Hades, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Apollo, Hermes, Nemesis, and a number of minor god cabins.

We had a huge advantage with the Hephaestus cabin; they knew how to make well-designed and incredibly camouflaged traps, none of them lethal, but dangerous enough to stop a hostile from playing the rest of the game. Unfortunately for us, the Zeus cabin does pretty well with their traps too. Colin almost died from one of their traps near the creek, involving a trap door and floor with well-placed spear points. Luckily, Colin was quick enough to grab the surface.

We would use half of the Apollo cabin for guerilla warfare and use the other half for defense. The Hermes and Aphrodite cabin would use their numbers to block off the big army that usually comes through the middle. The minor cabins would be used to guard the flanks and go on offense if needed. Finally, my cabin and the Hades cabin would be split into groups of two.

That was the plan we drew up at the meeting.

"One thing," Nico said, "what are the groups of two?"

I thought about it, "That's a good question."

Everyone looked at the one they would choose to be their partner.

"I'll take Alan," Nico said.

I looked at Alan, "You agree to that?"

He nodded, "I'm down for it."

I observed Alan's face, he was still confused for some reason.

I motioned toward the door, "Alan, could I talk with you?"

He nodded and left the room with me while everyone was still talking about who their partners would be.

We walked out of the meeting room as he asked, "What's up?"

"I noticed your reaction to Beckendorf's tribute, you looked – confused."

He turned away, "It's nothing."

"What do you mean, _it's nothing_?"

He shrugged, "I don't know. Something about Beckendorf, he's my –"

The conch horn sounded, signaling the start of Capture the Flag.

"You were saying?" I asked.

He shook his head, "It's nothing." He smiled and took out a knife, "Let's start this game."

* * *

**Alan's POV:**** (Alan's POV is the second of three perspectives.)**

As Percy's team was marching toward the CTF starting point, Alan had no choice but to think back at the recent events that changed his life.

Everything was happening so fast for Alan. It seemed like yesterday that Hades, his father, visited Alan in the suburbs of Seattle.

He was fifteen; it was after a horrible day at school. He was expelled from his third school in the last two years. How was Alan supposed to know that throwing knives wasn't a valid weapon to use against bullies? The kids were fine, but the police had to take Alan to their headquarters to question him. After hearing the testimonies of teachers calling Alan confused and troubled, they released him.

But Alan had no parents to run back to, they were gone. No families to comfort him, they disowned him. No friends to help him out, he had no friends. Alan would use the names of neighbors to claim at his parents just so he could enroll in school. He had heard of the people who had graduated from high school and became successful and he was determined to become one of them. But because of his dyslexia and ADHD, it seemed impossible.

There was one thing that Alan loved to do in his free time: throw knives and shoot crossbows. There was an archery school where he would often watch students use bows and crossbows. Sometimes, he would sneak in and attend the classes himself and he found that he loved to do this. Year after year, he would practice in the forests, using trees as targets. And after a long time, he ended up mastering both the knives and the crossbow.

After he was expelled from his school, Alan went to the forest he trained in. In his regular spot, a clearing where trees would form a circle, he saw Hades.

At first he thought he was some guy lost in the woods. But Alan knew something else was happening after he looked deep into the man's eyes and his deepest nightmares came to life.

"Who- who are you?" Alan asked.

The man smiled, "You don't know?"

Alan shook his head.

"Think back when you were five years old." The man said.

The only thing Alan could remember was a day in kindergarten. They were digging in the sand when one kid found the remains of a dog. The teachers immediately took the bones away and left them in the trash can. Alan, being curious, looked in the trash can and picked up the bones. He remembered the bones coming to life and seeing a dog made of bones running around him. No one saw him, but he didn't forget that day.

The man nodded, "You remember. Now remember when you were thirteen and lost in that cave?"

Alan did remember. He had found a cave in the forest and went in to explore it. There were no signs of a carnivore living in there, so he just journeyed through. After going a long ways in the cave, he decided to go back, realizing he was lost. After traveling through the cave for about an hour, his instincts kicked in and his gut told him that he was near the something important. Every time he would meet a crossroads, his instincts pointed him to a certain direction and he'd go there. And before he knew it, he reached a room full of treasure chests. But the chests were of little importance, he just wanted to get out. He walked a little further and again, he found more chests. He walked further and he found the exit.

The man chuckled, "You can never get lost underground and where there is treasure, you will find it involuntarily. Alan, you know where to find the riches of the underground, and you have power over the dead, do you know what you are?"

Alan remembered his Greek mythology class in the seventh grade. Hades was the god of riches and death.

"I don't know who I am, but I know who you are: you're Hades." He said.

Hades raised his eyebrows, "You seem to accept that I exist much quicker than most."

Alan shrugged, "Not much to accept in life, anyway. I don't have much to live for."

"No," Hades said, "you have much more to live for than most people. You are more than you know."

A shadow rippled in the corner of Alan's eye. He found himself looking at an image of him and a pale teenager fighting through a group of people in Greek armor. The image shifted and it presented him standing on the top of a skyscraper looking at a much taller skyscraper with lightning flashing around it. On top of the skyscraper was a gigantic cloud.

"What is this?" Alan asked.

No answer came from Hades, he was gone.

* * *

**That's Alan's backstory! But wait - there's more! Tune in for the next chapter.**

**Please review! Again, I need those reviews to help me improve the story and see where it is at.**

**-F-I8 2**


	4. Chapter 3

We all sat at our usual spot at the campfire: front seats, far left side. The reason we do this is because it's the closest distance to the speaker at the campfire and it's also the closest to the exit towards the Capture the Flag battlefield.

It took a couple of minutes for the place to fill, but when everyone got there Chiron got up and addressed the camp:

"Another productive and successful day here at Camp Half-Blood! Your cooperation through the lessons and activities are appreciated. Your actions will be rewarded by yet another game of Capture the Flag!"

Everyone cheered and whooped.

"But before we start the regular announcements and introduction of campers, let us have a moment of remembrance of one of the campers who gave their life on the battle against Kronos at New York."

Ever since the start of camp this year, it was a tradition to fully recognize a camper who fell during the battle against Kronos. The first day we recognized Luke Castellan because his sacrifice was so important. During these moments, a picture slideshow of the camper appears at the hearth, and a moment of silence follows.

Today a picture of Charles Beckondorf glowed in the hearth. The moment I saw it, chills went through my body. Beckondorf died in one of the missions I was in. He sacrificed his life for mine, blowing up the cruise ship that held a number of Kronos's forces.

The slideshow started with Beckondorf smiling in his first week of camp, then a picture of him at the camp forge. Another picture featured his promotion to Hephaestus senior counselor. The final picture showed a picture of him and Silena Beauregard smiling brightly at the camera.

The last picture made my heart sink. That was the day before Beckondorf died. And the significant thing of it all:

took the picture.

A tear rolled down my cheek as I recalled all the things Beckondorf had done for me.

Beckondorf was in Elysium now, happily living (while dead) with Silena. I knew he was in a better place.

The moment of silence followed the picture slideshow. I examined the campfire assembly. Some of them were crying, while other put their head down. The new campers didn't know Beckondorf, but they knew he was of importance..

Chiron galloped up to the main stage and smiled at the campers to comfort them, "Beckondorf was a great camper and a good leader. May we never forget him and his sacrifice."

The centaur cleared his throat, "Now to the regular announcement of the day: I'm very happy to announce that Gloriana Honsfield of the Nike cabin has completed the final class of Swordfighting III and will advance to Weapon Mastery 101. On the other hand, let's introduce a number of campers who had just come in the past week."

Chiron called the names of the new campers. From a nine year-old to an eighteen year-old they came one by one. Finally, Chiron called Alan's name.

"Alan Shepard, son of Hades, step forth."

Alan hesitantly stepped up onto the platform. He shook the hand of Chiron as he welcomed him and wished him a good time at camp. Alan thanked him and walked down the stage.

After a few more new camper introduction, Chiron approached the stage, "Campers! Now we will start the Capture the Flag games! May I call the captains up on the stage?"

As Annabeth walked up the stage, the cabins on her side applauded and cheered. She looked toward me and flashed a smug smile.

I walked up the platform and the cabins on my side cheered their approval.

Chiron chuckled, "I am quite surprised, Percy, I was expecting you and Annabeth together."

"We just needed the competition," I smirked.

Annabeth laughed, "Not much competition I'm facing, if you ask me, Seaweed Brain."

I grinned, "Oh, it's on, Wise Girl."

"Haven't you considered that your nickname for me compliments me?"

"We'll see how wise you are after the game," I said.

We shook hands and walked off the stage, this capture the flag game would be interesting.

Our team consisted of my cabin, Hades, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Apollo, Hermes, Nemesis, and a number of minor god cabins.

We had a huge advantage with the Hephaestus cabin; they knew how to make well-designed and incredibly camouflaged traps, none of them lethal, but dangerous enough to stop a hostile from playing the rest of the game. Unfortunately for us, the Zeus cabin does pretty well with their traps too. Colin almost died from one of their traps near the creek, involving a trap door and floor with well-placed spear points. Luckily, Colin was quick enough to grab the surface.

We would use half of the Apollo cabin for guerilla warfare and use the other half for defense. The Hermes and Aphrodite cabin would use their numbers to block off the big army that usually comes through the middle. The minor cabins would be used to guard the flanks and go on offense if needed. Finally, my cabin and the Hades cabin would be split into groups of two.

That was the plan we drew up at the meeting.

"One thing," Nico said, "what are the groups of two?"

I thought about it, "That's a good question."

Everyone looked at the one they would choose to be their partner.

"I'll take Alan," Nico said.

I looked at Alan, "You agree to that?"

He nodded, "I'm down for it."

"Alright then," I said. "let's start the game."

Alan's POV:

As Percy's team was marching toward the CTF starting point, Alan had no choice but to think back at the recent events that changed his life.

Everything was happening so fast for Alan. It seemed like yesterday that Hades, his father, visited Alan in the suburbs of Seattle.

He was fifteen; it was after a horrible day at school. He was expelled from his third school in the last two years. How was Alan supposed to know that throwing knives wasn't a valid weapon to use against bullies? The kids were fine, but the police had to take Alan to their headquarters to question him. After hearing the testimonies of teachers calling Alan confused and troubled, they released him.

But Alan had no parents to run back to, they were gone. No families to comfort him, they disowned him. No friends to help him out, he had no friends. Alan would use the names of neighbors to claim at his parents just so he could enroll in school. He had heard of the people who had graduated from high school and became successful and he was determined to become one of them. But because of his dyslexia and ADHD, it seemed impossible.

There was one thing that Alan loved to do in his free time: throw knives and shoot crossbows. There was an archery school where he would often watch students use bows and crossbows. Sometimes, he would sneak in and attend the classes himself and he found that he loved to do this. Year after year, he would practice in the forests, using trees as targets. And after a long time, he ended up mastering both the knives and the crossbow.

After he was expelled from his school, Alan went to the forest he trained in. In his regular spot, a clearing where trees would form a circle, he saw Hades.

At first he thought he was some guy lost in the woods. But Alan knew something else was happening after he looked deep into the man's eyes and his deepest nightmares came to life.

"Who- who are you?" Alan asked.

The man smiled, "You don't know?"

Alan shook his head.

"Think back when you were five years old." The man said.

The only thing Alan could remember was a day in kindergarten. They were digging in the sand when one kid found the remains of a dog. The teachers immediately took the bones away and left them in the trash can. Alan, being curious, looked in the trash can and picked up the bones. He remembered the bones coming to life and seeing a dog made of bones running around him. No one saw him, but he didn't forget that day.

The man nodded, "You remember. Now remember when you were thirteen and lost in that cave?"

Alan did remember. He had found a cave in the forest and went in to explore it. There were no signs of a carnivore living in there, so he just journeyed through. After going a long ways in the cave, he decided to go back, realizing he was lost. After traveling through the cave for about an hour, his instincts kicked in and his gut told him that he was near the something important. Every time he would meet a crossroads, his instincts pointed him to a certain direction and he'd go there. And before he knew it, he reached a room full of treasure chests. But the chests were of little importance, he just wanted to get out. He walked a little further and again, he found more chests. He walked further and he found the exit.

The man chuckled, "You can never get lost underground and where there is treasure, you will find it involuntarily. Alan, you know where to find the riches of the underground, and you have power over the dead, do you know what you are?"

Alan remembered his Greek mythology class in the seventh grade. Hades was the god of riches and death.

"I don't know who I am, but I know who you are: you're Hades." He said.

Hades raised his eyebrows, "You seem to accept that I exist much quicker than most."

Alan shrugged, "Not much to accept in life, anyway. I don't have much to live for."

"No," Hades said, "you have much

more to live for than most people. You are more than you know."

A shadow rippled in the corner of Alan's eye. He found himself looking at an image of him and a pale teenager fighting through a group of people in Greek armor. The image shifted and it presented him standing on the top of a skyscraper looking at a much taller skyscraper with lightning flashing around it. On top of the skyscraper was a gigantic cloud.

"What is this?" Alan asked.

No answer came from Hades, he was gone.


	5. Chapter 4

Alan's POV:

A few weeks passed by and Alan found himself with a friend. They didn't go to the same school, but they met when Alan was watching the archery school. His name was Marcus Nickelson, 15 years old.

Marcus was great at archery, as if he was born for it. Every target Marcus aimed at; there would be an arrow at the bull's eye.

"I'm just born with it, man," Marcus said, answering Alan's question of why he was so good.

Alan laughed, "Don't tell me that, dude."

"No, really," Marcus said, "I just have my gifts: archery, basketball, singing –"

"Don't tell me you can sing too!"

Marcus grinned, "Come by my house, and I'll show you my studio."

Alan laughed, shaking his head, "I wish I was gifted like you."

Marcus patted him on the back, "You are gifted. You just have to find where it is and what it is. Come on, class is over, let's go to my house."

Alan nodded and packed his crossbow in his torn-up bag. He noticed three big guys in hoodies were watching him.

He nudged Marcus, "How long have they been there?"

Marcus looked over to the three guys and his eyes widened, "Let's get out of here."

As they exited the archery school, Alan noticed Marcus's pace was getting faster. Pretty soon, Marcus was running.

"Follow me!" Marcus cried, as they ran towards the forest.

_Who are they? Why are we running? _Alan thought.

Marcus led him through the forest, brushing pasts low-sweeping branches, climbing the hills and finally reaching a creek somewhere in a clearing.

Alan was confused, "What the heck man? Why are we running?"

"You won't believe me if I told you," Marcus said.

"Try me."

Marcus shook his head. He looked through his backpack and took out a map. "Follow the trail here, you'll find another clearing with a small pond. When you reach that, whistle really loud."

Alan took the map, "Stop joking with me, you're freaking me out."

"Alan, there's a reason why I became friends with you. You have the characteristics of a demigod."

"A demi what?"

"A demigod. Sons and daughters of the gods. Listen I can't explain much now, but you have to trust –"

The trees in front of us fell as three giant people walked in.

"Hello, demigods! We've been waiting for you." One of them said.

Another patted his stomach, "Regular mortals don't taste as good as demigods!"

Marcus drew his bow, "Go back to Tartarus with Kronos!"

"Son of Apollo, you do not simply think your bow can stop Laistrygonian giants." The biggest one said. "You might as well surrender, it's much easier and more painless!"

"Yeah, right." Marcus said, and shot the arrow toward the biggest giant.

"AARRGGH!" The giant yelled, "celestial-bronze!"

Alan was still grasping all of this in. What did they say they were? Laistrygonians? And what was celestial-bronze?

Alan looked down at the throwing knives strapped to his leg; they were now a golden color. Weren't they silver a while ago?

"Alan!" Marcus yelled, shooting another arrow, "get out of here! Use the path I told you!" He dodged one of the giants and shot another volley of arrows.

Alan took out his crossbow and armed it with a bolt. This seemed like a situation that he was used to, something he was born to do.

He aimed his crossbow to one of the giants who was trying to hit Marcus and fired it upon his head. The crossbow bolt went right through and the giant disintegrated into golden dust.

_Did that thing just disappear? _Alan thought.

Before he knew it, two of the Laistrygonians grabbed him and each grabbed an arm and leg.

The leader of the giants screamed, "Drop the bow! We'll rip off his limbs!"

"Let him go! Take me instead!" Marcus yelled.

"Why should we? He is much more valuable, he is a son of Hades."

"And I am a son of Apollo," Marcus shot his arrow and the arrow exploded in the faces of the monsters.

They let go of Alan and Alan scrambled towards Marcus. Marcus pushed Alan towards the path, "Go! I'll be okay, I was trained for this!"

Alan ran towards the path, looked back to see his friend arm another explosive arrow, and ran off to the path he was told to take.

A few minutes passed before he actually saw the pond. When he reached the clearing, he whistled the loudest he had ever whistled. But nothing happened.

He waited a few minutes and soon a shadow covered him, and a winged-horse with a rider in armor landed next to him. Alan's mouth dropped as he saw the horse, how was this real?

"Well," the rider said, "we either sit here and admire the horse, or you get your butt on board and let's ride the heck out of here?"

Alan nodded, still in awe, "Where are we going?"

"Safety," said the rider, "to Camp Half-Blood."

Alan then recalled all the events in the camp. The claiming of Hades, the introduction of the campers, the tour around Camp Half-Blood, meeting the Poseidon cabin. It was all just a life-changing experience.

He still remembered in detail the images Hades showed him in the forest, what were they about?

He still remembered his friend, Marcus, how he sacrificed his life just to get him to safety. Alan still couldn't shake off the guilt he felt for leaving him. Why did he leave him?

He still remembered the talk of how he shouldn't be alive when he entered the camp. They told him about the Big Three and the pact they made. Apparently Hades still broke his pact, but according to the accounts of others, Zeus and Poseidon did too. So was Alan just a result of a broken promise?

He still remembered the face of Charles Beckendorf as they showed him in the honorary tribute for his sacrifice. Why did he look so familiar?

All these thoughts soared around Alan's mind as they marched toward the Capture the Flag battlefield. Rica and Amanda had given him new armor, light-weight, perfect for a crossbowman. The Hephaestus cabin had also forged new bolts for his crossbow as well as throwing knives. They supplied him with a short sword just in case he went into close combat.

Finally, after a bit of hiking, they reached the flag spot. It was around the creek, which was perfect for the children of Poseidon.

"Hephaestus cabin, take the time to set up traps now," said Percy, as the rest of the blue team set up defenses.

The defending half of the Apollo cabin took their place in the trees, whereas the other half grouped together to discuss battle plans and maneuvers.

Nico walked up to Alan, "Percy told me we're one of the candidates to take the flag, meaning if you see the flag, run up and take it. The rest of the team will cover you."

"No problem," he said, nodding, "is it illegal to kill during the games?"

Nico took out his Obsidian-black sword, "Don't worry about it, use your instincts."

_That's not very assuring. _Alan thought. But if he was going to defend himself, he knew he'd have no option but to maim, kill, or immobilize.

Percy walked up to Alan with Colin following him, "Do good out there, let's show the camp what you can do."

Alan nodded then smiled, "You too."

Percy patted him on the back and walked away with Colin, explaining the route they were going to take.

"Nervous?" asked Nico.

He nodded, "A bit. I've never faced actual people in combat."

"Even though we're sons of Hades remember that death isn't something that we look forward to. Even giving death is a nightmare to anyone's first time, especially for a son of Hades."

"Why is it worse for us?" asked Alan.

"Because," said Nico, "when we travel the Underworld, we get to see them. We get to see how their life was lived and how happy they were when you ended their life. You either regret it, or you feel relieved because you helped them or the world."

_I never would want to feel that feeling. _Alan thought.

Nico nudged him, "We just learn to accept it. There's a lot to being a son of Hades, but we also have our good times."

"And that is?"

He shrugged, "You'll find yours. I found mine a long time ago."

Alan nodded, "Did you tell this to every child of Hades when they're new to camp?"

"It's not easy to accepting you're the child of the god of death, so yes, I do."

Suddenly, the conch horn sounded and Chiron's voice projected around them: "Campers! You know the rules! Maiming and killing is not encouraged. Magic items will be allowed. Powers will be allowed! The first one to get the opponent's flag over to their territory wins the game! Let Capture the Flag begin!"


End file.
